The Omni Group Forums

The Omni Group Forums (http://forums.omnigroup.com/index.php)
-   OmniFocus 1 for Mac (http://forums.omnigroup.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38)
-   -   Questions re: links, shortcuts, & numbers (http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=11917)

hoju 2009-04-11 11:52 AM

Questions re: links, shortcuts, & numbers
 
Howdy,

So I'm back to OmniFocus (woohoo!), and have a few questions I'm hoping someone can help me with:

1. From the Projects sidebar, how do you get to the project itself to add tasks, notes, etc., via the keyboard?

In other words, say app focus is on Project "A" in the sidebar. What key do I press to jump to Project "A" in the main window so I can edit a note for that project? I know the shortcut to edit the note while focus is on the main window (command + apostrophe).

2. Is there a way to insert a link in the notes section? Let's say I have a folder with the files that correspond to a project. Can I put in a link to that folder, ideally via a "browse" window?

3. Lastly, the Inbox has a number display of how many items it contains. Can I have a similar count for folders for how many projects they contain, or how many tasks a project has?

Thanks!

whpalmer4 2009-04-11 12:41 PM

[QUOTE=hoju;58392]
1. From the Projects sidebar, how do you get to the project itself to add tasks, notes, etc., via the keyboard?
[/quote]
cmd-4 (View->Go To Main Outline)
[quote]
2. Is there a way to insert a link in the notes section? Let's say I have a folder with the files that correspond to a project. Can I put in a link to that folder, ideally via a "browse" window?
[/quote]
Drag and drop the file/folder on the note, or use Edit->Attach File... (which will give you the option to embed a copy of the file instead of making a link)
[quote]
3. Lastly, the Inbox has a number display of how many items it contains. Can I have a similar count for folders for how many projects they contain, or how many tasks a project has?
[/QUOTE]
I don't think so. By the way, if you have an item in the Inbox which has a due date in the past or near future (within your "Due Soon" period), you won't get a display of the count of items in the Inbox, but rather the count of due or nearly due items.

hoju 2009-04-11 01:44 PM

Thanks for the reply!

Regarding #1, CMD + 4 shifts focus to the main window, but then you have to use the "up" arrow key to get to the project. Seems like an extra step. If there's no other way, I'll make this a feature request.

And thanks for the info on the other two!

whpalmer4 2009-04-11 02:19 PM

If I have selected a project in the sidebar and press cmd-4, focus switches to the main window and the project title is selected. If I then press cmd-' the note field opens for editing, or if I press return a new action is created. How could it get any easier without implanting electrodes in my brain? :-)

hoju 2009-04-11 04:38 PM

I guess that's the issue, then. If I have a project selected in the sidebar and press CMD+4, focus switches to the main window, but my project title is NOT selected. If I press the "up" arrow, it then becomes selected. Could it be a preference that needs to be set? I'm running v. 1.6.

But electrodes sound good too...

;o)

whpalmer4 2009-04-11 05:43 PM

I understand that it doesn't appear to be selected, but if you want to add something, just hit return and start typing...it works even though it doesn't look like it should :-) I'm using the latest Sneaky Peek, but I doubt that makes any difference.

hoju 2009-04-11 07:36 PM

Thanks for all of your responses and your patience. At this point, I'm trying to figure out if my copy of OF is acting funny, or if this is a bug / unintended effect.

Okay, so yes, you're partially correct, at least with my copy of OF:

- Hitting "Return" does indeed add an action to the project, even if I'm in the sidebar, meaning I don't have to hit CMD+4 first.

- Hitting CMD+' while in the sidebar reveals the note, but doesn't enter "Edit Note" mode. This is global, meaning if I have a folder with several projects in it selected in the sidebar, CMD+' will show all of their notes.

- If I hit CMD+4, and then CMD+' on a project WITH a note, the note becomes visible, but does not go into "Edit Note" mode. It stays grey.

- If I hit CMD+4, and then CMD+' on a project WITHOUT a note, nothing happens.

The shortest way (without using the mouse) that I've found is to shift focus to the main window, and then use the arrow keys to actually highlight the desired project, and then hit CMD+' to enter "Edit Note" mode. But again, this seems wrong somehow. The project should be highlighted automatically when I shift focus to the main window, right?

Is this the same behavior you're seeing? If not, I'll try upgrading to the latest build, trashing preferences, contacting support, etc.

Thanks again for your help!

Hope 2009-04-12 09:58 AM

[QUOTE=hoju;58408]Is this the same behavior you're seeing?[/QUOTE]

That's what I'm seeing.

whpalmer4 2009-04-12 10:50 AM

[QUOTE=hoju;58408]- Hitting "Return" does indeed add an action to the project, even if I'm in the sidebar, meaning I don't have to hit CMD+4 first.
[/quote]
Yes, that's what I see. I'm not a keyboard-only fanatic (I'll happily use the trackpad to switch windows, apparently without even noticing!) but that seems like it ought to be the most common case, not editing the notes.
[quote]
- Hitting CMD+' while in the sidebar reveals the note, but doesn't enter "Edit Note" mode. This is global, meaning if I have a folder with several projects in it selected in the sidebar, CMD+' will show all of their notes.

- If I hit CMD+4, and then CMD+' on a project WITH a note, the note becomes visible, but does not go into "Edit Note" mode. It stays grey.

- If I hit CMD+4, and then CMD+' on a project WITHOUT a note, nothing happens.
[/quote]
My mistake here; I didn't actually try to edit the note, just saw that it opened (and didn't try it on a project without a note). But they got the case I care most about right, see above :-) Sorry for not spotting the differences.
[quote]
The shortest way (without using the mouse) that I've found is to shift focus to the main window, and then use the arrow keys to actually highlight the desired project, and then hit CMD+' to enter "Edit Note" mode. But again, this seems wrong somehow. The project should be highlighted automatically when I shift focus to the main window, right?
[/quote]
I think a reasonable argument could be made for that behavior (and I can't think of an argument offhand why that behavior would be detrimental). On the other hand, I've been using OmniFocus for almost as long as it has been possible to do so, and hadn't noticed this problem until you mentioned it yesterday!

The keyboard shortcut I want to see most (and I should think you'd want it too) is one to hop in and out of the inspector. Send in your request with Help->Send Feedback for that as well and I'll send one in for yours :-)

hoju 2009-04-12 10:24 PM

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;58430]I've been using OmniFocus for almost as long as it has been possible to do so, and hadn't noticed this problem until you mentioned it yesterday![/QUOTE]

I'm just here to shake things up and make sure you don't get complacent ;)

Looks like the Omni folks are going to get some feedback from yours truly. I'll definitely put in a good word for the "jump to the Inspector" shortcut we all sorely need!


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:43 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.